Peter Fonda, had originally intended to use Dylan's version of the song in the film but after failing to secure the appropriate licensing he asked The Byrds’ frontman Roger McGuinn to record a cover of it instead.

Dennis Hopper explained to Sabotage Times:

“I thought it would be so cool if the movie ended with Dylan’s ‘It’s Alright Ma. The problem was Dylan didn’t like Easy Rider or the song so much. He thought the track was pretentious and he had a real problem with the end of my movie: ‘You can’t end it like that! Peter should go back and blow those guys away.’”

Interesting tidbit. Sounds right.Peter Fonda shafted Dennis Hopper over the money from that film, as I recall. I don't think they were ever friends again after it. And Hopper was ten times the talent of Fonda, and had a much more impressive career afterwards.

Interesting tidbit. Sounds right.Peter Fonda shafted Dennis Hopper over the money from that film, as I recall. I don't think they were ever friends again after it. And Hopper was ten times the talent of Fonda, and had a much more impressive career afterwards.

I don´t know anything about Fonda other than that movie, but I´ve seen Out of the blue directed by Hopper some years after Easy rider and thought it was total crap, despite the godly soundtrack by Neil Young.Even Easy rider I find totally overrated. And as an actor, I think Hopper is quite limited

if you like OR don't like Easy Rider you should check out the movie "Flashback" which is a kind parody of Easy Rider - featuring Dennis Hopper himself! And this movie end with a Bob Dylan performance (People Get Ready)

Interesting tidbit. Sounds right.Peter Fonda shafted Dennis Hopper over the money from that film, as I recall. I don't think they were ever friends again after it. And Hopper was ten times the talent of Fonda, and had a much more impressive career afterwards.

I don´t know anything about Fonda other than that movie, but I´ve seen Out of the blue directed by Hopper some years after Easy rider and thought it was total crap, despite the godly soundtrack by Neil Young.Even Easy rider I find totally overrated. And as an actor, I think Hopper is quite limited

Did you see him in "Blue Velvet" or "“Apocalypse Now”? Rather than his talent being limited, I think it's more your comprehension and exposure. He went off the deep end on cocaine but staged a huge comeback with Blue Velvet. He had issues but was a fascinating character. ZZ Top wrote a song about him.

Did you see him in "Blue Velvet" or "“Apocalypse Now”? Rather than his talent being limited, I think it's more your comprehension and exposure. He went off the deep end on cocaine but staged a huge comeback with Blue Velvet. He had issues but was a fascinating character. ZZ Top wrote a song about him.

I have seen those 2 and I stand by what I´ve said. Not even ZZ Top can make me change my mind

The first time I saw Easy Rider I was tripping. That made the tripping scene even trippier!

I was still discovering Dylan at the time and when It's alright ma came on I thought it was just a different recording of him. I was so sure that I lost a bet to another kid. That's when I discovered Roger Mcguinn and The Byrds.

Listening back now, I don't how I could have thought that was Bob. I do recall thinking that guitar playing was much better on the Mcguinn version.

Did you see him in "Blue Velvet" or "“Apocalypse Now”? Rather than his talent being limited, I think it's more your comprehension and exposure. He went off the deep end on cocaine but staged a huge comeback with Blue Velvet. He had issues but was a fascinating character. ZZ Top wrote a song about him.

I have seen those 2 and I stand by what I´ve said. Not even ZZ Top can make me change my mind

I thought he was terrific in Apocalypse Now, but to each his own. Here's a classic clip. Supposedly, and it looks it, Hopper was totally zoned out on coke through the whole movie. When he finally went overboard and went into rehab, he said telephone poles had been talking to him.

Did he not like the idea of the song on the end of that movie,or did that quote mean he'd fell out of love with the song itself?If so i'm glad he found some love for it, the '74 performances were amazing.

Was it really Bob personally who didn't allow that song to be used for Easy Rider? Couldn't it be a decision by someone in Bob's camp? Some lawyer, the publisher, whoever?I don't think Bob had anything against that movie, he wrote Ballad of Easy Rider (or at least the beginning of it) specifically for the soundtrack ( that's how the story is told on wikipedia, so it must be true).

The original version of The Weight couldn't be used in the soundtrack either, for the same reason.

I thought he was terrific in Apocalypse Now, but to each his own. Here's a classic clip. Supposedly, and it looks it, Hopper was totally zoned out on coke through the whole movie. When he finally went overboard and went into rehab, he said telephone poles had been talking to him.

I like Hopper, just don´t think he´s the amazing talent some people think he is (or was). I´ve also seen some interviews with him and he seems to be a pretty boring, vacuous individual.Coke was only one of the many substances he abused in those times. Easy riders, raging bulls, by Peter Biskind, is a great read for anyone who loves american movie making from the 70s. Hopper is described as a dangerous, violent guy who has so constantly high on all kinds of shit that at some point producers gave up trying to keep him sober and instead, would make notes on his script to indicate which drug they advised he take before each scene, which would suit the atmosphere and mood the best

Was it really Bob personally who didn't allow that song to be used for Easy Rider? Couldn't it be a decision by someone in Bob's camp? Some lawyer, the publisher, whoever?I don't think Bob had anything against that movie, he wrote Ballad of Easy Rider (or at least the beginning of it) specifically for the soundtrack ( that's how the story is told on wikipedia, so it must be true).

The original version of The Weight couldn't be used in the soundtrack either, for the same reason.

The Weight" Smith

The song was written by Robbie Robertson, a member of the Canadian-American group The Band. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as #41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004.Smith's version of "The Weight" was included on the epochal Easy Rider soundtrack because, due to contractual reasons, The Band's version was unavailable.

I like Hopper, just don´t think he´s the amazing talent some people think he is (or was). I´ve also seen some interviews with him and he seems to be a pretty boring, vacuous individual.Coke was only one of the many substances he abused in those times. Easy riders, raging bulls, by Peter Biskind, is a great read for anyone who loves american movie making from the 70s. Hopper is described as a dangerous, violent guy who has so constantly high on all kinds of shit that at some point producers gave up trying to keep him sober and instead, would make notes on his script to indicate which drug they advised he take before each scene, which would suit the atmosphere and mood the best

Again, we're all entitled to our own views, but you are in the minute minority on this one. If you read the comments on youtube below that Hopper clip, they are pretty much the same - Hopper stole the show there and was a supremely talented individual, though deeply flawed. And youtube has an audience a few million times larger than this site.

Peter Fonda, had originally intended to use Dylan's version of the song in the film but after failing to secure the appropriate licensing he asked The Byrds’ frontman Roger McGuinn to record a cover of it instead.

Dennis Hopper explained to Sabotage Times:

“I thought it would be so cool if the movie ended with Dylan’s ‘It’s Alright Ma. The problem was Dylan didn’t like Easy Rider or the song so much. He thought the track was pretentious and he had a real problem with the end of my movie: ‘You can’t end it like that! Peter should go back and blow those guys away.’”

It'll be featured in the new Ken Burns doc about Vietnam. Can't wait to watch it.

Joined: Sat January 1st, 2011, 20:57 GMTPosts: 6815Location: Out in the West Texas town of El Paso

I don't know if I can't recommend the film Last Movie, but Hopper wears a coat in it very similar to Dylan's coat on Desire. I think Hopper gave the coat to Bob. Both Last Movie and Renaldo and Clara are edited in a similar fashion.

If you don't like Hopper in Blue Velvet or Apocalypse now, you may like him in Hoosiers, that's more appealing to the masses. Some folks say he won the academy award for that film because they didn't want to give to him for playing such a reviled guy in Blue Velvet.

There's other performances, I remember him being good in his late career film Elgy, in a supporting role. I think he was in Rivers Edge as well. He generally worked better in quieter roles.

Dylan, reportedly a "Sopranos" fan (he recorded a cover version of "Return To Me" for a Season Three episode) allowed IAMIOB to be used in the final episode of the series.

3 Bob songs where used in the sopranos, gotta serve somebody is used in season 2 the "house arrest" episode.

At least 4 were used because there's an episode that has a school choir doing Tambourine Man! It's short, quiet and easy to miss. Not sure which episode it's from but in the scene Tony is running from the FBI in his neighborhood. It's definitely worth finding just to hear it.

At least 4 were used because there's an episode that has a school choir doing Tambourine Man! It's short, quiet and easy to miss. Not sure which episode it's from but in the scene Tony is running from the FBI in his neighborhood. It's definitely worth finding just to hear it.

Well remembered, just after johnny sac gets arrested and slips in the snow, same episode tony B gets killed.

Meadow has a joan baez poster up in room and is listening to diamonds and rust in one of the episodes as well in one of the earlier episodes.

I don't know if I can't recommend the film Last Movie, but Hopper wears a coat in it very similar to Dylan's coat on Desire. I think Hopper gave the coat to Bob. Both Last Movie and Renaldo and Clara are edited in a similar fashion.

If you don't like Hopper in Blue Velvet or Apocalypse now, you may like him in Hoosiers, that's more appealing to the masses. Some folks say he won the academy award for that film because they didn't want to give to him for playing such a reviled guy in Blue Velvet.

There's other performances, I remember him being good in his late career film Elgy, in a supporting role. I think he was in Rivers Edge as well. He generally worked better in quieter roles.

"In the late 60s, Hopper made Bomb Drop, a performance piece captured on film in which he sits in a circle of 20 sticks of dynamite and blows himself up. "When I was a kid I saw this rodeo in Dodge City, Kansas," he says, "this guy calling himself the Human Stick of Dynamite. He got inside this dynamite ring, waves to the audience, then an assistant blew him up, big explosion, then he gets up, waves to the audience and that's the thing. I wanted to start Easy Rider that way. I wanted that to be Captain America, Peter Fonda being the guy who gets blown up, and me being the assistant who does the plunger." Given the well-documented animosity between the two, the notion of Hopper blowing up Fonda at the beginning of the film seems fitting - but in the end they ran out of money and abandoned the idea.

Hopper finally got to do the human dynamite thing in the middle of a speedway track in Texas. He still finds this very funny. "This is in the middle of a race," he says. "So that's me just before, kneeling, trying to get the charges together because if you put 20 charges of dynamite in a circle they won't blow in on themselves: there's a vacuum. If three don't go off, you're sucked out and killed. However, it worked and we did it."

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